PUL-E-KHOMRI (SW): Residents in northern Baghlan’s Dand-e-Ghori area believe that Taliban have recently established the ‘Vice and Virtue Unit’, a moral police force there.
They said that this unit threatens those who wear ‘western cloths’ and have ordered the men to grow beard.
Dand-e-Ghori is located in Pul-e-Khomri, the capital city of Baghlan, and is considered as one of the major Taliban bases in the north.
Gulab Mangal, Minister of Borders and Tribal Affairs, visited the province with a delegation following an increased insecurity and there he signed an agreement with tribal elders in Dand-e-Ghori.
The agreement said that security forces should not conduct operations in the area and in return Taliban would not pose any threat to the security at the Kabul-Balkh Highway.
Civil society activists and a number of officials in the province, however, believed that the agreement in Dand-e-Ghori has further strengthened Taliban.
Prior to establishing the ‘Vice and Virtue Unit’, the militants have already imposed some of their rules in Dand-e-Ghori.
Mohammad Osman, one of the residents in Dand-e-Ghori, told Salam Watandar that the militants have threatened the youth to grow beard and avoid growing long hair or otherwise they would be severely punished.
He said that many young men have left the area due to the continued threats.
Abdul Rashid Bashir, Police Chief in Baghlan, emphasized that the militants have established this unit and force people to abide by the rules they have imposed on them.
He said that the mop-up operation is underway and the area will be fully cleared of the militants soon.
ENDS
